


Midnight in the Resistance Base

by monsterleadmehome



Series: Dawn of the Rebellion [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Leia finds out about the force bond, Mother Leia knows best, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey is in denial, everyone has insomnia, gratuitous face-touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-28 15:19:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13274220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monsterleadmehome/pseuds/monsterleadmehome
Summary: “Do you ever wish you had stayed?” he asked so softly, she almost missed it.“I think about it every day,” she paused. She hadn’t meant to admit that. He always knew how to get her to tell the truth. “What you were asking of me, it was too heavy. I couldn’t have done it, not the way you wanted me to.” She studied the floor for a second before asking, “Do you wish you had come with me?”He took a couple steps closer. “Sometimes.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Knowing we won't be seeing Leia in Episode IX, I wanted to write about how she might find out about the Force-bond between Rey and Kylo/Ben, and her feelings about it. I think on the level of her being Leia, the mom, and not Leia, the general, she would be really happy for Ben to be with someone like Rey.
> 
> Anyway, I couldn't get this scene out of my head, so I had to write it. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Obviously, spoilers for The Last Jedi lay ahead.

Leia Organa had worn many titles over her years: Princess, Senator, General. Of all of them, _Mother_ , still carried the most weight. It was nights like these, when sleeplessness caused her to roam the halls, that her thoughts would wander. They always ended up at the same place - her son, Ben. She had sensed him on Crait, and confessed her worst fear to Luke, that all traces of Ben Solo were gone. Only the monster Kylo Ren remained. Luke had assured her, sounding every bit the Jedi master she remembered him to be, that “no one’s ever _really_ gone.”

How she hoped it were true. Not only for Ben’s sake, but as she realized once they were safely gone, for her brother’s as well. She felt him leave this plane, becoming one with the Force. She almost envied him, the peace he was finally granted after all these years. Grateful as she was for the necessary distraction to get the Resistance to safety, it would be so nice to have Luke here now. Leia had very few people left in her life to truly confide in. Han, Holdo, Luke. All gone. How many more people would be lost in this seemingly endless war with the First Order? Their numbers had already shrunk so much. She wasn’t sure if they could take another hit.

So, “lay low” was the order for the time being. The Resistance was rebuilding. The new base was a work in progress, and Poe was off finding new recruits. Everyone seemed to be finding their place and pitching in. Everyone except for Rey.

Rey was exceptional, and always ready to help, but Leia sensed a deep longing within the young Jedi in training. A longing and a _loneliness_ that weighed on her. She tried her best to hide it, but Leia could tell. Rey was different somehow. Sometimes she’d catch her, leaving a room in a hurry with a panicked look on her face. Once Leia caught her gaze and Rey’s face had flushed pink. She was sure the girl from Jakku was hiding something. _But what?_

________

Rey dangled her legs over the edge of the metal table she was sitting on. She began to swing them back and forth, shaking out the tingles. They had been crossed one over the other for the past half hour as she tried to meditate. She was practicing becoming more attuned to the Force, but her mind was uneasy tonight. She always came back here, to the empty halls at the back of the base that were used mostly for storage. It was easier to be alone with her thoughts, or not so alone if a certain Supreme Leader decided to show up.

After Crait, Rey had thought the Force bond was closed. Hell, it should have closed after Snoke died, if he really had engineered it. Though, she highly doubted that now. Didn’t she feel the first frisson of a connection with Ben on Takodana, if not long before that?

The first time she saw him again, she ignored him. After a few distressed pleas for her to listen, the connection closed and she cried. The next time he didn’t say anything, just stared at her with those beautiful brown eyes, like he was afraid it would be his last chance to take her in. She tried to avert her gaze, but she found herself staring back at him, wondering how this lost little boy turned emperor could melt her insides with a look. It was the time after that they resumed talking. If the Force was going to keep revealing them to each other, the least they could do was play along.

If she were to be completely honest, Rey was relieved. Having Ben to talk to, even if he was light years away, made her feel less alone. Sure, she had Finn. And Rose, whom she adored. And Poe, when he was back from his scouting missions, adding newbies to their ranks. But no one understood her like Ben. She knew he felt the same. 

The problem was she could never tell when he was going to show up. She knew no one else could see him, unless they were Force-sensitive too, but it still felt like a sort of Russian roulette. Where will the Supreme Leader of the First Order show up today? She knew she was toast if the others found out. People were already intimidated by her, but if they found out she was having intimate conversations with public enemy number one, they’d lose all faith in her. If they didn’t lock her up first.

Almost on cue, he was there. She could always feel him before she saw him. He was standing, across the room. She couldn’t see his surroundings, just him. “Couldn’t sleep, either?”

“I rarely do,” he admitted. 

He must have at least tried. He was dressed in a plain black shirt and pajama bottoms. And he was barefoot. Rey tried not to focus on that; this was the first time she had seen him without shoes on. His hair was slightly disheveled, and if she were to begrudgingly concede, damn near adorable. She fought against the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. Instead she let out a little, “hmph.”

“Do you ever wish you had stayed?” he asked so softly, she almost missed it.

“I think about it every day,” she paused. She hadn’t meant to admit that. He always knew how to get her to tell the truth. “What you were asking of me, it was too heavy. I couldn’t have done it, not the way you wanted me to.” She studied the floor for a second before asking, “Do you wish you had come with me?”

He took a couple steps closer. “Sometimes.” He paused, unsure of whether to continue. A sadness passed over his face. “You know I couldn’t have, though. None of them would ever be able to trust me, not after what I’ve done.”

“You don’t know that,” she said, hopping off the table and crossing the rest of the distance between them. “Your mother would want you here.”

He scoffed. “I doubt that.”

Rey thought he must have moved to stand in front of a window, as it suddenly appeared that moonlight was shining on his face, illuminating the scar that ran down the side of it. Before she could stop herself, she brought her hand up ever so gently to touch him. Amazingly, she could feel his skin, warm beneath her fingers. She traced the length of the scar with her thumb, from just under his eye down to his jaw. She let her hand linger there, but followed the rest with her eyes to where it disappeared beneath his shirt. “I never did apologize for giving you this.”

He flinched at first at her gentle touch, only because it felt so real. It was everything, her hand on his skin, and it made the ache that much more intense. His eyes briefly flitted down to her lips…

________

 

As Leia rounded the corner, she thought she could hear faint voices. Who could possibly be back here this time of night? Her instincts kicked in and she moved closer to the sound. At the end of the hall, one of the doors stood slightly ajar. That one was always stuck, so nothing of importance was placed in that room. As she neared the opening, she could tell who one of the voices was, it was Rey. And the other? _No, it couldn’t be…_

Silently, Leia peered inside the room so as not to alert them to her presence. It took all her strength not to make a noise as she saw her son, there inside the base, carrying on a conversation with Rey like it was normal. _It’s not possible,_ she thought. _He’s light years away from here._ But there he was, with a look in his eyes she’d never seen before, directed at the scavenger girl from Jakku. It was a look that reminded her of someone else: his father, Han. They were standing disarmingly close to each other, and for a brief moment she was reminded of stolen kisses and pronouncements of nice men.

She wanted to burst into the room, demand answers, but then Rey touched his face. Her heart warmed as she saw the look in Ben’s eyes. This Jedi girl was caressing the face of the Supreme Leader of the First Order. It was tantamount to treachery, but the intimacy of the moment made her turn away. Instead, she listened to her son’s voice for the first time in what felt like ages.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not like I didn’t deserve it.” He caught Rey’s hand in his own and brought it back down, but didn’t let go. “It’s not like I didn’t inflict pain on you, too.”

“Nothing I haven’t recovered from.” She allowed herself a small smile then, looking down at their clasped hands. She could feel him, warm and reassuring, even if he was half a universe away. There were no visions tonight, only the comfort of skin on skin.

From her spot behind the door, Leia could hold back no longer. She needed to know how her son had managed to manifest here, to talk to him. She charged through the door. “Ben? Is it really you?”

Her son turned and exclaimed, “Mom?” just before vanishing into thin air.

Rey looked aghast, her hand now empty. “General! I- I can explain!” Her eyes were wide with the terror of being discovered.

Leia recovered her shock, heartbroken that her son was gone from view. “Yes, I think you should.”

Rey told her everything. About the Force-bond, how she went to him to turn him, how Ben had killed Snoke, and even the part about him asking her to rule the galaxy with him. She was afraid to leave anything out at this point. Though she _didn’t_ say how right it felt to fight alongside him, how standing back to back with the General's son was the most at home she had ever felt in her life. 

Ultimately, Leia was the one in charge, so she could choose whether or not to protect Rey’s secret. She listened intently, just like a mother, nodding her head slightly at the end.

“And when were you planning on telling me that you have this special bond with my son?”

Rey hung her head, “I don’t know. It just started happening again. I thought I had closed him off.”

Now Leia could recognize the reason for Rey’s recent behavior. She felt it coming off of her and could see the anguish in the young woman’s eyes. “You’re in love with him.” It was a statement, not a question.

Startled, Rey responded, “What?! No! No, I’m not- that’s not, _we’re_ not…”

“Rey, it’s _OK_. You don’t have to hide from me. Maybe you don’t even know it yourself yet, but I can see it in your eyes.” It looked like Leia was smiling, but Rey thought she must have imagined it.

“With all due respect, I don’t think you’re seeing things clearly here, General. You just accused me of having _feelings_ for the enemy.” Rey couldn’t bring herself to say the word, lest it become true if she said it.

Leia brushed it off. “I was watching the two of you for a bit before I came in, and I know that look. He’s in love with you, too.” In fact, she was sure if she had waited any longer to interrupt, she would have broken up more than just a hand-holding session.

Rey tried to ignore the drummer pounding out a rhythm in her chest. “But - if it were true - wouldn’t this a bad thing?”

Leia put her arm around the girl. “On the contrary, this is the best news I could have gotten tonight. If Ben can fall in love, it means there’s still hope for him.”

She walked Rey back to her quarters, promising to keep her secret for now. She’d figure out what to do with this news eventually. In the meantime, it was back to bed. They both slept soundly the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Adding a chapter in case anyone may have subscribed to this work, not knowing that I posted the follow up as a second part in the series.

For the next installment, see [Dawn of the Rebellion](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13689360).

Thanks, everyone for the positive reaction to this one-shot! Hope you enjoy the sequel. :)


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